[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 106 (Thursday, June 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31942-31943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13714]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA288


Marine Mammals; File No. 15748

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to the 
Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), Seward, AK, to conduct research on marine 
mammals.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammy Adams or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 
(301) 713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 14, 2011, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (76 FR 13603) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on marine mammals had been

[[Page 31943]]

submitted by the above-named applicant. The requested permit has been 
issued under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 
as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the 
taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The permit authorizes capture and harassment of free-living Weddell 
seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in McMurdo Sound and along the shore of 
Ross Island, Antarctica to study thermoregulation. The research 
involves capture and restraint of adult females and pups/juveniles of 
either sex for attachment of scientific instruments, morphometric 
measurements, ultrasound, and tissue sampling. Harassment of additional 
seals in the vicinity of captured animals is also authorized, as is 
research-related mortality. Tissue samples collected may be exported 
from Antarctica for analysis in the U.S. The permit expires August 30, 
2015.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the 
activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

     Dated: May 26, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-13714 Filed 6-1-11; 8:45 am]
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